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Quick Notes: This salad is entirely legit. If you’re a bigger fan of their pork, my Slow Cooker Sweet Pork is also a Cafe Rio Copycat and can be located here: https://www.justthefuckingrecipe.net/slow-cooker-sweet-pork/. The rest of the salad is easy. The chicken is less of a copycat, and just a really fucking delicious way to cook chicken. This Cafe Rio Copycat Grilled Chicken Salad recipe also includes an absolutely delicious copycat of the dressing which I think is a spot-on copycat. You also may notice that my photo is missing a pico. I just forgot to toss it on there. I will also include a recipe for a super yummy pico!
Ingredients
- -Salad
- 1 extra fucking huge tortilla per salad
- 2 large or 3 small chicken breasts
- 1 head of romaine, chopped
- 1 can of black or pinto beans
- 2 cups cilantro lime rice, (1 bunch cilantro, 1 cup rice, 2 tablespoons lime juice)
- 1 cup pico, my recipe here: http://www.justthefuckingrecipe.net/easy-pico-de-gallo/
- 2-3 tablespoons of guac
- 1 absurd amount of Cotija cheese
- tortilla strips
- garlic salt
- onion salt
- pepper
- chili powder
- a little bit of Mexican blend cheese for the tortilla
- -Dressing
- 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch mix
- 1 cup mayo
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large tomatillo, outer skin removed
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed
Instructions
- About 4-6 hours (at least) before you plan to eat your dressing, make it to sit. Take everything from my list for dressing ingredients and throw it in a blender. Blend it the fuck up. If your tomatillo is super large, you might want to cut it in half and remove some of its insides. This dressing can get a tad bit watery if you're not careful. If it does happen to be runny, try adding a titch of mayo at the end. It will help it thicken up a little more, but you don't want to compromise the flavors.Â
- Put your dressing in a jar and toss it in the fridge. Letting it sit overnight is best, but at least four hours is pretty crucial.Â
- Season your chicken well with the garlic salt, onion salt, pepper, and chili powder. If you happen to have a BBQ, I highly recommend grilling it over a fire. If you don't (which I don't) then a stovetop will do. throw on a couple of table spoons of olive oil, and toss it in a skillet. Once you've seared it well on both sides, reduce the heat and toss a teensy bit of water in there and put a lid over the top of it. I don't know why this works, but it does, and it makes it super juicy and delicious. Give it about 6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. Test it to make sure it is cooked through.Â
- Remove the chicken and slice it into 1/2 inch slices, and set aside in a bowl.Â
- Prepare your rice the same way I outline it in my Sweet Pork Burritos recipe. Â
- Turn the broil on in your oven. In/on an oven-safe dish, put your extra fucking huge tortilla and sprinkle it with a little of the Mexican blend cheese. Throw it under the broiler just until the cheese has melted. This will come in hand later when you want to roll this bitch into a burrito because it keeps your tortilla from ripping.Â
- On top of your tortilla, layer it the fuck up. Start with about a half a cup of our prepared rice, followed by a half a cup of beans, then chicken. On top of the chicken, comes the lettuce, Easy Pico de Gallo, Cotija, cilantro, tortilla strips and a spoon full of guac.Â
- Pour dressing on there. Just, fucking go for it. SLATHER IT ON. Whatever makes ya happy. Â
Bigger fan of their burritos? Here's a copycat Sweet Pork Burritos recipe!
